Because I grew up in a genre-loving family, the idea that only men enjoy one type of movie and only women enjoy another seems odd. After all, the last time I checked, I’m a chick, and yet chick flicks sometimes make me want to barf. Sure, I love good drama, and, yes, I cry every time I watch Terms of Endearment, but given the choice I’d rather watch Chuck Norris roundhouse kick someone’s face off. And while even I can’t deny that men and women tend to be drawn to different types of movies, good entertainment has no gender. To back that argument up, here are movies that are thought of as guy stuff but women should embrace as well.

Star Trek (2009)
Space: the final frontier and long the domain of dudes. While J.J. Abrams’s reboot of the classic TV show has the requisite sci-fi trappings that guys love (aliens, spaceships, good-looking women in glittery clothing), a lot of the trappings of the chick flick are present as well. Settle down, Trekkies, and listen. Between the amped-up bromance of Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto), the star-crossed romance of Spock and Uhura (Zoe Saldana), and the dreamy Pine, women shouldn’t leave this space adventure to the guys.

Braveheart (1995)Take my hand, friend, and let’s travel back to a time when Mel Gibson was no mere rage-filled tabloid stalwart. His finest work, Braveheart, is as epic as epic film gets, with Gibson shouting inspiring things left and right, a dramatic James Horner soundtrack, lots of pointy sticks jabbing into people, and blood and body parts flying. You know the drill. But there’s also romance — lots and lots of romance, as Gibson first marries a girl he’s known since childhood and later starts a love affair with a princess. Additionally, all the Scots wear kilts — and I can attest to women loving nothing more than a man in a skirt.

True Lies (1994)
As much a comedy as an action flick, True Lies may be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s last great movie. Arnold plays a secret agent who’s concealing that tiny detail from his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis), who soon finds herself embroiled in international espionage and intrigue. Sure, Schwarzenegger fights bad guys in a jet, but there’s also plenty of husband-and-wife issues that take center stage alongside explosions. There’s also the fact that Curtis will make women think about Activia yogurt, and if advertising has taught me anything it’s that women love yogurt almost as much as they love guys in skirts.

Road House (1989)Road House is perhaps the ultimate man’s movie: it takes place in a bar, there’s violence, bare boobs, and an evil magnate who crushes competition with a monster truck. How much more macho can you get? But look past that to the more female-friendly side of Road House: Dalton’s New Agey mantras (“Pain don’t hurt!”) and his penchant for bare-chested, oiled-up Tai Chi are a woman’s dream (perhaps literally). Oh, and did I mention that Dalton is portrayed by the late heartthrob Patrick Swayze? And that his mentor is played by mustachioed tough guy Sam Elliott? Between Swayze’s Dirty Dancing past and Elliott’s mustache, the ladies are bound to swoon.

Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Movies about barbarians may not scream “chick flick,” but rest assured that Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a lover and a fighter. The entire premise of the film is Conan’s desire to resurrect a lost love and his bargain with an evil queen who says she can help him if the muscle-bound hero will go on a quest to get her a magical horn (which seems like a fair deal but isn’t). And while plenty of movies boast having strong female characters, Conan actually delivers with the fearsome spear-wielding Zula (Grace Jones). By the film’s end, Zula is a veritable pioneer for women’s rights in Conan’s fictional land, as she’s named the first female captain of the guard.

Five more guy movies that girls will love:

Fight Club (1999): The first rule of Fight Club is that we don’t talk about how dreamy Brad Pitt and Jared Leto are, even when they’re punching each other.

Pulp Fiction (1994): Quentin Tarantino’s labyrinthine masterpiece has bloody kills for the guys, and Travolta kills it on the dance floor for the ladies.

Lethal Weapon (1987): Guns, punches, mullets, and two cops who antagonize each other like they’re an old married couple. Aw, how cute.

Die Hard (1988): Bruce Willis is so cool he can smirk his way into a woman’s heart even as he stops terrorists and brandishes a machine gun.

The Beastmaster (1982): Let’s be honest: the beasts of this sword-and-sorcery flick are just so cuddly. You can’t go wrong with ferrets.